shameless self promotion...

i was interviewed by a nebraska newspaper recently about my tour here in iraq. you can check out the article here.

update on "joey"

this evening a couple colleagues and i headed over to the csh (hospital) to see some of the kids and we learned that "joey" and his sister thoha are heading home. believe it or not a special unit located the children's mother who was not killed in the bombing despite reports. i can only imagine the look on her face when an army private and 5 or so navy seals opened her door and said "we have you children."

it turns out that the father was the target in the bombing. he was an iraqi police officer, working to secure his country, and was assassinated with the bomb. his wife, the young mother of the two children, was not with them at the time and is happily awaiting the children's return.

a small miracle for all involved. a mother who assumed that all was lost is preparing to welcome her children home.

the military nursing team is losing one of their favorite patients but hope remains.

holding sultan

the nurses at the combat support hospital have nicknamed him "joey" but his sister tells us his name is sultan. his parents were killed in the bombing that broke his 5-year-old sister's leg and left glass in his skin.

we visit the hospital every so often to say hi and give a small gift to some of the kids that are brought there and often their stories are the ones that drive us to work a few hours longer and put in that much more effort. it is the stories of these children and other iraqis that i wish the community would more fervently guard against and stand up for change.

another patient was a young (early 20s at the most) soccer player who was on the national team; last week he lost both of his legs to a car bomb. each story is horrible and tragic. insurgent terrorists strike without reason and almost prefer the innocent victim.

we have to get to a place where these stories are no more.

i have a nephew that was born just weeks ago and obviously i have yet to hold him. but today i got to hold a little boy that needed some love. if this is the only way i can make a difference in iraq, i am okay with that.

rice visit and new security plan

the new baghdad security plan is in effect now and despite a pair of bombs yesterday it has been going smoothly. on saturday reuters was reporting that only five bodies had been found in the city (when a typical day would bring 50 dead bodies). there is still a long way to go. most of the sectarian violence makers are hiding out in iran (that is kind of like harboring terrorism) and could be waiting for the surge to be over or overly excited american forces withdrawal. time will tell.

either way it goes i hope and pray that for these people there is peace. it has to be tiring to have your guard up constantly and feel trapped in your own neighborhood. one of the first things i plan on doing when i get back to dc is taking a good long run covering several miles of unencumbered terrain. the people that live here can not do that without extreme danger of going through the wrong neighborhood.

sectarian violence is ridiculous. the western world most recent acts of this violence have been in ireland but in american history i am not aware of violence between different sects of the same religion (and maybe i have missed something).

in other news, secretary of state rice visited on saturday. i had the great pleasure of working with the press at the meeting with the iraqi prime minister. it was a good experience and one of those "i was there" moments.

just 30 days left for me in iraq. it will turn out to be longer than the original planned 3 months but worth it.

supplying the iraqi army

i took some reporters out to the taji national depot yesterday and toured the facilities that manage all of the logistical needs of the new iraqi army. it is quite the operation.

i was actually surprised by the level of preparedness of the iraqi army having just been constituted a couple years ago. it shares many generals with the former army but now they are paid more (keeping them loyal) and have better technology and resources to secure their nation.

of course they have a long way to go but i trust that with coalition advisers giving guidance they will make their way to peace.

life goes on...

flying over baghdad the other day i was amazed that life keeps on moving on. here is a city rapt in violence yet people still go to work, children still play and somewhere in the middle of it all people smile on occasion.

much like the children in iraq; the population can be lost in the statistics and it can be easy to blame the entire nation for small sects of hate but the lives of good people, working for change goes on everyday.

meeting ali

a couple posts back i talked about the loss of capt. brian freeman and the work he was doing to change lives in iraq. one such story is that of ali. ali is an eleven-year-old with a heart defect that greatly reduces energy and his body's ability to survive. sadly, if ali were to miss any treatment as his body launched into his teens he would experience even less mobility and potential death. but ali had a champion in brian freeman and soon ali will be lying in a new york hospital bed recovering from surgery fixing the problem.

yesterday i had the opportunity to meet ali for the first time and he is an amazing boy that one day hopes to be a soccer star!

a few members of my team, joined by the navy captain in charge of the national iraqi assistance center (a office that works on health care cases like this one finding patients care since their own system often lacks the expertise needed) took a reporter from the washington post to interview ali and his father.

back in the states, conn. senator dodd has been using capt. freeman's death as a statement of how the congress should oppose any new efforts in iraq. but capt. freeman wanted change not absence from iraq. brian thought it best to have those trained in areas work in those areas (just as the president announced a new civil/military outreach to hire experts for various military jobs.) and the example brian set as a caring individual working tirelessly for children like ali will live on here and hopefully at home.

ali is a testament to one man's dedication and an indication of the way forward in iraq. he is a member of iraq's greatest generation - at least a generation with the greatest opportunity. i pray that his health improves with surgery and ali returns to iraq ready to lead, not only on the soccer field but among his peers and his nation.